On the beautiful, cloudless afternoon of July 27, Michigan City Municipal Golf Course hosted its 96th annual Michigan City Golf Tournament. Horizon Bank was the sponsor of this exciting and fun community event. Although many of the participants hailed from Michigan City, residents from across the Region came to play. Marty Nieman, director of golf at Michigan City Municipal Golf Course, considers the Michigan City Golf Tournament to be a very important event for the Region.
“A lot of people plan their schedules around the tournament,” Nieman said. “They know it's always going to be held during the last two weekends of July, so they make a point of taking time off from work to can participate. The tournament is open to anyone, so golfers will come from places like Merrillville, Schererville, Highland, and South Bend to compete. I think that the participants get more excited when they know that so many different people from all over Northwest Indiana are coming in to prove who's the best. Since the tournament is flighted, everybody has a chance to win in their category, no matter their skill level.”
The first two installments of this year’s tournament were held on July 20 and 21, with the final two installments being held the following weekend, on July 27 and 28. Golfers pay an $80 tournament entrance fee. Golfers are sorted into one of seven groups – or “flights” – based on their age and skill level. The tournament welcomed golfers of all ages to compete; some participants in this year’s tournament were over 60 while others were as young as 12. Nieman continues to do his utmost to make the tournament as enjoyable for the players as possible.
“When I first started managing the tournament five years ago, I added some things to get people more excited,” Nieman said. “We started giving out hole-in-one cards and giving out cash prizes to golfers who got closest to the hole. I also got Horizon Bank to sign up as the tournament’s corporate sponsor and that was the change that really helped us out the most. The money that they put towards the tournament covers the green fees so that anybody that signs up doesn't have to pay them. The money that the participants pay then goes towards all of the cash prizes. As a result, the tournament was more cost-effective and began drawing more participants. Five years ago, we would typically have 50 golfers participate, but now we have grown to about 125 golfers.”
While he no longer plays in the tournament himself, Nieman is proud to participate in its legacy by organizing it each year.
“This has been my home course since I was 12 years old,” Nieman said. “Although I miss playing in the tournament, it's almost more exciting to be involved with it in a different way. I enjoy working alongside my staff to put this tournament together and make it the best it can be. People feel that our tournament is well-run and I take pride in the fact that they think we’ve been doing a good job. Our new superintendent of the greens has been keeping the course in beautiful shape, so I hope everyone enjoys the excellent course conditions. Most importantly, though, I hope everyone has fun and wants to come back next year.”
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